One of my best friends in the whole world is the talented Sarah Prineas, author of The Magic Thief middle-grade series. Sarah and I met about 10 years ago at Wiscon when neither of us had published a novel and, wow, it’s been quite a ride for both of us since then.

Today Sarah has a new middle-grade book out called Winterling, and it’s dedicated to me:

To Jenn Reese. For you, and for the girl you once were.

It will come as no surprise to those of you who know me that I cried when Sarah first showed me this. (At dinner during Blue Heaven, in front of everyone.) Sarah knows about my childhood, and how books were my escape and my life preservers, the things that saved me from giving up each and every day. She knows that I read stories about heroes and adventures in magical lands where good always triumphed. Books where there was always a better world by the end of the story.

And oh, if my young self had been able to read Winterling! I would have read it over and over, dog-earing the pages and looking up the words I didn’t know. I would have read it walking to the bus stop, sneaked peaks at it under my desk during class, devoured chapters while hiding under my covers at night. I would have clutched it to my chest like a treasure and imagined myself as Fer, the girl who belonged in another world, the girl who was destined to save it.

So yes, I think Winterling is magical. Sarah’s writing is lush and evocative, her world filled with characters I want to meet and travel through the dark woods with. It’s perfect for anyone who needs an escape to other worlds, or even for someone who just wants to visit.